And so, with concerns for the community, he decided to do something about it. Kris jumped to the rescue, deciding he would pay for the lifeguards to stay on until the end of the Australia Day long weekend.

“I was casually talking to one of the lifeguards and they mentioned they were finishing that weekend (the 16th). I didn't know what was going on - they're always here until the Australia Day long weekend,” owner Kris Fowler said.

“We've been campaigning to get more patrols throughout the year - and then we find out they've (council) cut a week off,” he said.

“We were shocked and pretty horrified - a lot of our guests come to expect these patrols, as do a lot of families in the area.

“So we came up with the idea to pay for the rest of the season. Megan Maine did a lot of the leg work, but we worked it out that we'd finance the rest of the time.

“We feel really strongly that the beach is an important part of life along the Coffs Coast, people come here specifically for the beach.”

Mr Fowler said he thought that cutting the service early was 'regressive'.

“For a town that relies on tourism - and the beach for that tourism - it's just been neglected,” he said.

Coffs Harbour City Council had not returned calls at the time of publication.